CaptureNotes

Inspiration

I got the idea for this app through the numerous experiences I've had in classes where it's inconvenient to both take notes and listen to the professor. It's occurred to me that some people take pictures of lecture notes and (maybe) look at them later. However, it seems like a bit of a hassle to go through pictures on your phone and I figured it would be much easier for people if they could have this newly-gained information in the form of a .word or .doc file. The rest is history...

What it does

CaptureNotes is an Android app that uses Google Vision and Android Speech Recognition to allow you to take either a picture or a recording and convert them to a .txt file in seconds. The app utilizes powerful machine learning algorithms that parse out words from pictures and recordings. After gathering the data, the app lets you edit the document quickly and precisely before sending it to a .txt file.

How I built it

I built the app using Android Studio, a platform I was already familiar with from college courses. I used the various skills I've developed throughout my courses to build up the project. I know how to use the most common Android objects, but I still had to learn more than a few things to get this project running. Most of all, I had to learn how to use ML APIs and integrate them into my project.

Challenges I ran into

Having not really gone solo on a hackathon project before, I felt a bit in over my head at first. It's much easier to make program if you have friends who can shoulder some of the work. This sentiment was especially pronounced during the first half of the hackathon, when I was coding the basic stuff. It's always demoralizing when you struggle coding even the most "simple" things. That being said, my goal in this hackathon was to learn how to deal with these sorts of problems on my own.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

First of all, I'm proud of taking part in a hackathon by myself. I'm not sure how many people do it, but I never thought I'd find myself having the confidence to do so. Also, there's the project itself. I'm proud of it and I plan to make more interesting things like it in the future.

What I learned

Technically speaking, I've learned how to use several new objects in Android Studio and how to integrate the Google Vision and Android Speech Recognition APIs with code of my own. I think it's safe to also say that I've learned how to efficiently use my time and make the most of one day!

What's next for CaptureNotes

I'm not sure if there's anything I really need to do with the project. However, I was considering making a feature that lets you find and edit previously written files.